Kotaku

So I am taking the reins from Mark for the day and presenting you guys with the Justify Your Game segment. In today's segment, Eric Walter from Nintendo justifies Mario Kart Wii. Normally the speaker only has 15 seconds to justify their game, but this guy was good. He nailed it in 12 seconds.

As you probably noticed, I went by the Denver stop of the Mario Kart Wii Driving School this weekend. I didn't spend as much time as I would have liked to with it, because I was busy doing interviews and such, but I got a chance to sit down with the game for a few minutes.

The game was set up with the wheel, and while I refuse to rescind my right to mock the Wii Wheel for being a silly peripheral and getting way too much face time at last E3, the thing actually works quite well.

The game is a solid racer with everything you'd want and expect out of a Mario Kart racer, including plenty of tributes to past tracks. Tristan loved the game, and the wheel, and the two friends he brought with him said they were going to start saving immediately to buy a copy.

Now if only they could fix the whole Friend's Code thing...

[Special Thanks to Patrick Lewis for the photos and faux Mario Kart Wii Pwnage]

Hello to everyone out there in Kotaku land! It is finally here, the second installment in the Kotaku Instructional Video Series, The Kartokumentary. This time around we explore what it is like to play a game against the big man himself, Brian Crecente! You'll laugh and you'll cry. We know the star of the first video was Mini Crecente, so we humbly asked him for an encore. After meeting his numerous demands we were able to score him in the new video. I am proud to present to you the Kotaku readers, The Kartokumentary. On a personal note I just want to say thanks again for the awesome comments on the Kaketakumentary. I read everyone one of them and hope to bring you guys more good stuff.

So while Crecente, family, friends and I were at the Mario Kart Driving School we were lucky enough to talk to Eric Walter with Nintendo. He is one of the people that travels with the Mario Kart event that is touring across America. Personally, I was really impressed with the 24 foot trailer they had set outside along with the tent. It was a great way to give the city of Denver an insight to the game before it comes out. Plus, they gave us free food so how could I possibly complain? In terms of Mario Kart itself, trust me this game is fun. If you are a fan of the series then there is really no way you can be disappointed. Yes, the Wii Wheel is a bit hard to use, but once you get the hang of it you might want reconsider those GameCube controllers.

This weekend Nintendo's 24-foot Mario Kart Wii truck will be pulling into Denver to give the city's residents a chance to check out the game and earn their own personalized Kart driver's license.

The Mario Kart Wii Driving School has been slowly, quietly making its way across the country, allowing gamers to check out the game in the confines of a glass display truck.

The truck hits Denver (across from Skyline Park on the corner of 16th and Arapahoe streets) this Friday at 11 a.m. and is open for business till 8 p.m. It will also be around Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The gamers who swing by to check out the courses and vehicles walk away with an official Mario Kart driver's license that includes their photo, nickname and vehicle of choice.

I think Tristan and I are going to try and make that, sounds like fun.